1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pick truck racks and, more particularly, pickup truck racks suitable for use inside canopies mounted on a pickup truck bed.
2. Prior Art
It is well known to have truck racks for pickup trucks. Truck racks generally provide a frame elevated above the truck bed on which various cargo can be carried. Typically, such racks are positioned over the cab rear window to the truck driver still has full view through his rear window. It is also well known to have canopies that mount over a pickup truck bed on bed sides. (For purposes herein, a truck xe2x80x9ccanopyxe2x80x9d is construed in the normal vernacular as that which is mounted as an enclosure over a truck bed, including a roof and sides around a support structure together comprising the whole of a truck canopy.) The canopy adds a measure of security for cargo carried in the truck bed and also offers protection from the weather. However, use of the canopy also generally limits the area in which cargo can be carried. Conventional truck racks are generally not compatible with use of a canopy, though it is known to have a truck rack that mounts around and outside of a canopy. It is not common however to have a rack that mounts over the truck bed inside of a canopy also mounted over the truck bed, thus offering the security and protection of a canopy for cargo loaded onto the rack while still providing full view to the rear of the truck through the truck rear window.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a truck rack with a platform, that is, a raised flooring, over a pickup bed and within a pickup canopy. To accommodate a generally unobstructed view through the pickup rear window, it is a second object that the platform be mounted above the rear window but still within the pickup canopy. These objects are achieved in a frame supporting a platform supported above the cab rear window in normal use but lowered for loading. Thus, the bed of the truck is still available for normal use in hauling materials and relatively large parts and equipment, while smaller parts and equipment may be stored above the truck bed on the supplemental platform over the bed and above the cab window.
Because different manufactures and truck models may have different dimensions of the rear window, it is a third objective that the legs supporting the frame on which the platform is mounted be length adjustable. This object is achieved in sleeves mountable to a truck bed side with a hole through the sleeve receiving a frame leg having a plurality of leg holes matching the sleeve hole. To select a preferred leg length, a bolt passes through a selective leg hole aligned with the sleeve holes.
It is a fourth object that the platform be accessible for easy loading. This object is achieved in the platform pivoting on pivot pins from a frame first end at a platform first end between (a) a store position with a platform second end latched to a frame second end securing the platform within the channel between the frame side members and (b) a loading position with the platform second end unlatched and lowered from the frame
It is a fifth object that the platform and the frame supporting it minimize vertical space occupied by the frame and platform to maximize volume above the platform available for cargo, recognizing that volume above the rear window and below the canopy is limited, especially for a canopy the height of the cab. This object is achieved in the frame comprising upper and lower parallel side members and first and second cross members between upper parallel side members, the second cross member over the upper parallel side members forming an inverted U channel and frame legs supporting the side members over the truck bed, extending between the bed sides and the side members. The pivoting platform fits between the upper parallel side members of the channel in its store position.
It is a sixth object that the platform second end when unlatched and lowered from the frame be supported. This object is achieved by at least one support member extending between the frame and one of said frame side members, the support member having a longitudinal slot with a slot pin extending from the side member and through the slot and sliding therein as the platform moves between its store and loading positions, resting on a slot platform end to support the platform hanging by the support member from the frame.
It is a seventh object that the rack adapt to different bed dimensions of different vehicles, particularly the transverse distance between bed sides. This object is achieved in a plurality of frame mounting brackets secured to the bed sides and extending inward therefrom, the frame legs mounted thereon interior of the bed sides and within the canopy.
It is an eighth and last object that the platform be assisted in lifting it from its load position to its store position. This object is achieved in a lift assist member on each platform side between the platform and a lower parallel side member. Typically, the lift assist member comprises a spring that is compressed as the platform moves from its store position to its load position, releasing compression energy to assist the platform as it moves from its load position to its store position, though any comparable assist mechanism is suitable and deemed a part of embodiment of the rack.